Chapter 3: School Daze
BUZZ! The alarm clock blared at 6am letting Jeremiah know it was time to wake up for school. He slammed his hand down on the snooze button and tried to get a couple more minutes of shut-eye. However, his extra sleep was interrupted immediately when his mother's dog began barking due to the paperboy slamming the Gotham Gazette against the front door.
He sat up in his bed for a moment and let out a loud yawn. He glanced over at his black and silver football helmet which was sitting on his dresser. He noticed the burn mark on its crown from where the bullet ricocheted off of it during his fight in the alleyway yesterday with the gang members from the Satan's Serpents. Then, he remembered the microchip he had received from the woman who was getting roughed up by the evil-doers. He wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. She said something about following the clues- whatever that means.
He got up out of bed, brushed his teeth, and made sure his hair looked okay before finally getting dressed. After walking out of his room he was greeted by the loud barking chihuahua.
RUFF! RUFF! RUFF! RUFF! RUFF! The dog playfully jumped up and down begging for Jeremiah's attention.
"Okay! Okay! Down Sparky! Down!" He exclaimed while petting the dog.
He then opened up the front door and snatched the morning paper from off of the doormat. He was shocked when he read the main headline.
"Football Player Saves The Day."
"What? I didn't think anyone saw me." Jeremiah thought to himself as he continued reading the article.
"An anonymous eyewitness described to reporters a man wearing a black and silver football helmet prevented a woman from being assaulted by two men suspected to be affiliated with the street gang known as the Satan's Serpents. The police were called to the scene at an alleyway between Pearl and Phillips. That is where two unconscious men were found laying in a large dumpster outside of the Monarch Theater. Both men were injured but denied medical attention. They refused to answer any questions that the police had for them and no arrests were made. The alleged victim fled the scene, and police were unable to locate her after the mysterious football hero stepped in. The police are still looking for both the woman and the helmeted mystery man. They are asking anyone with information to please contact the Gotham City Police Department. Crime has been steadily increasing since The Batman disappeared from the streets. Some are suggesting average Gothamites are finally starting to become vigilantes to fill the void left by The Batman. After the accidental shooting of 37 year old Marcus Johnson, the police are urging the public to call 9-1-1 if they see a crime being committed and insisting civilians not get directly involved."
"Whew! At least they don't know who I am. I'd probably be sitting in a jail cell right about now if somebody would have been able to identify me- probably sitting next to my innocent father." He proclaimed as he tossed the newspaper down and headed off to school.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of GothCorp, were the two gang members of the Satan's Serpents who were supposed to retrieve the microchip from the woman in the alleyway. They were on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs and their faces blindfolded. Three other members of the gang were holding them at gunpoint.
A minute later, the leader of the gang walked out onto the roof. He was a muscle bound freak like a jacked up bodybuilder who was constantly taking steroids. His head was completely bald and he had a snake-skin tattoo covering his entire face and body. His eyes were red and his pupils were slit- just like a snake.
He walked up to the men who were blindfolded. "I sent you to do a simple job and you guys couldn't even get a microchip from a little woman."
One of the men started speaking through the blindfold. "Someone showed up- someone wearing a football helmet and shoulder pads." He said nervously.
"Don't forget about Batman- he also showed up." The other man piped up. "I had the drop on the kid- then suddenly- Batman hit me with some sort of boom-a-rang- and pulled me up- it happened so fast."
"Yeah, boss. It happened so fast- Batman showed up and before we knew it, BAM- we were both knocked out." The other man declared.
"Batman would be an old man by now!" The leader exclaimed. "You guys couldn't take on a woman- a boy- and an old man! You are both useless! Who has the microchip?"
"The woman gave it to the kid before she ran off. He probably doesn't even know what's on it."
"Yeah, I remember the lady handed something to the kid. He was wearing a high school football helmet. I swear it looked like a Central Raiders helmet."
"Is that all you remember?" The leader asked.
"Yes sir!" They both replied in unison.
"Fine! You two can stand up now." He insisted. "Untie them and take off their masks!"
After their shrouds were taken off, they found themselves looking over the edge of the building.
The Serpent leader spoke up. "You know what? There has been a terrible rash of suicides that have plague the city lately. Everyone has been so strapped for cash due to all the inflation. I guess you two just couldn't take it anymore!"
"Wha-"
Just then, the Serpent leader pushed both men off of the roof. He watched them as they fell 30 stories down- splattering blood all over the pavement.
He turned to look at the other members. "I want you guys to find out who this kid is!" He demanded. "Send a couple of pigs that are on our payroll to visit Central High School!"
Jeremiah was nervous as he walked into the school. He wasn't sure if anyone had figured out that it was actually him who tried stopping the two thugs in the alleyway.
"Why did I have to show up at the end of football practice yesterday? Why couldn't I have just stayed home? I was too busy trying to be all macho- like that jackass Quarterback, Tommy Sionis." He thought.
As he made it closer to his locker, he noticed a big crowd gathering around Tommy. Other students were giving him high-fives. Even the JV squad was cheering him on.
"Why is everybody showing him so much love? I thought I proved to the whole football team that he wasn't so tough." Jeremiah thought while shaking his head in disbelief.
Jeremiah saw a girl that he had a crush on named Valerie Stevens. She was also a Junior the same as him. Plus she did cheerleading and other extracurricular activities after school. Valerie was standing with the group that was cheering Tommy on. She turned and noticed Jeremiah walking up the hallway, then quickly left the group and started walking towards him. Tommy also noticed Valerie walking away and gave Jeremiah a rude stare. Jeremiah wasn't intimidated. In fact, he reciprocated with his own dead stare. Tommy's expression shifted rather quickly. Jeremiah knew he was remembering the hit he took yesterday.
Valerie finally caught up to Jeremiah. "Hey, Jere- how have you been? I haven't seen you for a week. How is your father doing?"
Jeremiah took a breath because the love of his life was trying to have a legitimate conversation with him. "He is recovering." He softly spoke.
Valerie stood there for a second because she thought he might have more to say, but he didn't. "Oh….okay. That's good to hear." She responded.
Then, she perked up. "Did you hear the news about the kid from this school who saved a woman from the Satan's Serpents yesterday?"
"No. I don't know anything about that. Is he in trouble or something?" Jeremiah played it off as if he hadn't a clue of what she was talking about.
"No. He's not in trouble." Valerie replied.
"What? How would you know?" Jeremiah asked.
"Because! It was Tommy who did it! He has been bragging about it for the last ten minutes now."
"What?!" Jeremiah blurted out causing Valerie to take a step back.
He couldn't believe Tommy was telling everyone he was the hero. "Talk about your Quarterback Sneaks!"
"Yeah. I guess that's the direction he walks home after football practice. He said he ran into those two punks, and then he kicked their behinds." She continued to celebrate.
Jeremiah thought to himself. "I can't believe my dad is going to jail after being a hero, yet this guy can brag about something he didn't even do, and instead of the police showing up to put him in cuffs, he gets a whole pep-rally for it."
Valerie touched Jeremiah's arm. "Tell your dad I said thank you for what he did at the bowling alley. My little brother was there with our Grandma. They saw the whole thing. It was terrible what happened to him." She said remorsefully.
"Well, I'll let him know when I visit him in jail!" He declared as he began walking away, giving Tommy one last dirty look.
After checking in at his locker, Jeremiah quickly started walking to class. He didn't want to talk to anyone else. He was already feeling sick to his stomach seeing that Tommy was getting all that attention.
Then, as he was walking around the corner, he bumped into a couple police officers who were talking to his psychology teacher, Mr. Crane.
"Hey! Watch it KID!" The police officer belted out.
Jeremiah was shocked when he realized that they were the same two police officers from the hospital that arrested his father.
"What do you guys want with me? Why can't you guys leave my family alone?" He asked.
"Whoa! Whoa! Don't get your panties in a ruffle, little girl! We ain't here for you!" The officer retorted.
"Well, why would you be?" Jeremiah calmly stated.
"We're here to find out if anyone knows something about the alleyway incident yesterday evening involving two men and a football player who might possibly go to this school." The officer explained. "Which way do you walk home from school?" He asked.
Jeremiah wasn't sure what to say. But then, he didn't have to say anything because Mr. Crane spoke up.
"It wouldn't have been Jeremiah, officers. This is his first day back to school in a week."
"Oh. Well then…. Stay outta trouble kid." The officer said while stepping aside to allow Jeremiah to get to class.
After Jeremiah walked into the classroom and took his seat, he sat and watched the police officer's body language while they spoke to Mr. Crane. He was trying to get an idea for what they were talking about. Suddenly, another officer abruptly interrupted their conversation as if he had some important information. He could barely hear what they were saying, but he could make out a little bit by reading the officer's lips.
"We found him." The officer was saying as he pulled the other two away.
Jeremiah then realized that the cop must have been talking about Tommy.
"Finally!" Jeremiah said to himself. "Finally, Tommy will have to pay for trying to steal my glory."
Jeremiah could see out of the classroom window as the police officers loaded Tommy into the police car. Suddenly, Jeremiah spotted the police officer that had shot his father rolling up on the scene. "How the hell is he still working for the GCPD?" He wondered.
The police officer got out of his car and approached the other two officers. It looked like they were having a bit of a heated conversation. Then, he got back in his car and drove off. Soon after that, the other two got into the car that was holding Tommy and they also drove away.
"Hey! I didn't want to say anything back at the school, but…. I'm not the one you guys are looking for. I was only saying it was me to get attention!" Tommy told the officers.
"Sure, sure, Tommy Boy! You seemed like you were really trying hard to convince your classmates that you WERE the guy!" The officer retorted.
"No! I swear it wasn't me! I'm not dumb enough to cut through alleyways in Gotham City. "He declared. "What? Do you think I'm nuts?" He added.
Then, Tommy noticed the car wasn't heading in the direction of the police station. "Hey! Where are you guys taking me? The police station is back the other way."
"Shut up and don't worry about it! Someone needs to ask you a few questions!"
A couple minutes later, the police car pulled in behind a shipping container at the shipping docks. Then they pulled Tommy out of the car and walked him out near the water.
"What are we doing her-"
POW! Before Tommy could get the question out, one of the officers punched Tommy in his gut, knocking the wind out of him, and causing him to drop down to his knees.
"Now! We are only going to ask you this once! Where is the computer chip?" The officer demanded to know.
"What computer chip?" Tommy asked after catching his breath. "I have no idea what you are talking about!"
BAM! The officer backhanded him against his jaw causing Tommy's mouth to start bleeding.
"You wanna do this the hard way, huh?" He said while grabbing a hold of Tommy's head and submerging it below the cold water.
"Now- you are gonna tell us what we need to know or we are going to drown your punk ass!"
"I SWEAR! I don't know what you guys are talking abou-" Tommy managed to blurt out just before getting his head dunked again.
"You really wanna make it this hard! Witnesses said they saw you walking home from practice. You were there when the police were called! We know you have the chip! Now give it up!" The officer yelled while threatening to dunk his head again.
Tommy started to cry. "I was only there because I wanted to see what was going on. I swear I had nothing to do with this!"
Seconds later, the leader of the Satan's Serpents approached the scene. He grabbed a hold of Tommy's chin and made Tommy look into his eyes.
"First you said you weren't there. Then, you said you were there. Which one is it? Were you or weren't you?" The leader asked.
"I was there…. But I was only trying to see what was going on. Whatever happened must have happened before I got there. I swear!" Tommy repeated. "Look, my dad is Roman Sionis. If it's money you guys want- my dad has plenty of it. Please. Just let me go."
"Damnit! This isn't him!" The Serpent leader proclaimed. "I swear you guys are a bunch of idiots! No wonder why Gotham City needed a Batman!"
He then pulled out his gun, cocked it, and then pointed it at Tommy's head. "Look kid. I like your dad. He's done me a lot of favors since I've been here. Why don't you also do me and your dad a real big favor…. Keep your mouth shut about our little conversation that we had here. It might be in the best interest of your health…. Know what I mean?"
